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Send Entries to: Teachers We Love c/o Arcadia News 3850 E. Indian School Rd., Phx, AZ 85018 or fi ll out a nomination form online at: arcadiadaily.com/teachers.pdf Teacher/Administrator Name: _____________________________________________ School Name: _________________________________________________________ Your Name: ___________________________________________________________ Your Email Address: ____________________________________________________ Your Phone Number: ___________________________________________________ How does this person make a difference? __________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ It’s easy to recognize and nominate your favorite teacher for Teachers We Love! Just fill out this form and mail, fax or drop it by our office. OR, you can nominate a teacher online at www.arcadiadaily.com/teachers.pdf Be sure to include details about why your teacher is great (more details = better chance of winning!) Winning teachers will receive special gift certificates to Postino and Salon Sandoval! Send Entries to: Teachers We Love c/o Arcadia News 3850 E. Indian School Rd., Phx, AZ 85018 or fi ll out a nomination form online at: arcadiadaily.com/teachers.pdf Teacher/Administrator Name: _____________________________________________ School Name: _________________________________________________________ Your Name: ___________________________________________________________ Your Email Address: ____________________________________________________ Your Phone Number: ___________________________________________________ How does this person make a difference? __________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ _ _________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ It’s easy to recognize and nominate your favorite teacher for Teachers We Love! Just fill out this form and mail, fax or drop it by our office. OR, you can nominate a teacher online at www.arcadiadaily.com/teachers.pdf Be sure to include details about why your teacher is great (more details = better chance of winning!) Winning teachers will receive special gift certificates to Postino and Salon Sandoval! Do you know a teacher who really makes a difference? Page 25 December 2015 By Jessica Morrison On September 16, the Society of St. Vincent de Paul expanded their mission of feed, clothe, house and heal by allowing food trucks to rent planting boxes to grow some of their food in an urban farm, and distribute it to the community. “We started with a core group of food trucks, as an experiment,” Jayson Khademi, owner of Saffron Jack food truck. Currently, the participating food trucks include Saffron Jack, Emerson Frybread, Luncha Libre, Frite Street, Rockabelly, and Rocket, which includes Adam Allison, a free- roaming food truck “super chef” of Super Farm, Super Truck, Khademi said. “We wanted to get to the next level where we know exactly where our produce is coming from. We try to be local in sourcing our meats and vegetables, but there is only so much we can do, locally sourced or organic. Otherwise, we would have to charge you $20 for a pizza, or $18 for a hot dog,” Khademi said. “We’re not doing it just because we love it, we also want to make a living as well,” he added. The planting box project is “helping us to get in touch with our food. St. Vincent de Paul was great in allowing us to try this out here,” Khademi said. “Jayson is one of the main guys who started this partnership with us,” said Esther Martinez, public relations manager for St. Vincent de Paul. “That’s what St. Vincent de Paul is all about: It’s connecting with the community and feeding the homeless,” Khademi said. “What better way [is there] than to have five or six food trucks rolling around, telling people that our food is sourced from St. Vincent de Paul’s urban gardens?” “Beyond that, there is a philanthropic part to the food truck garden. Part of their rent is to provide meals to the homeless community each month,” said Tony Kasowski, garden manager at the 420 W. Watkins St. location. Because the food trucks are mobile, like much of the homeless population, St. Vincent de Paul staff can access more locations – such as a riverbed or a bridge – and in turn, discover more locations where homeless people are staying, Kasowski said. Emerson Loren, of Emerson Frybread food truck, attended grade school at St. Vincent de Paul’s school as a child. Now, with his business and partnership with the urban farm, “everything came full circle,” he said. “I’ve been in the business for six years. I know that everything happens for a reason. It’s one hand washing the other. You always have to give back, feed yourself better and have a better feeling inside,” Loren added. “We all believe in dedication to the customer, and that’s why we are learning to do this – to grow our own stuff – to have a better product for our customer.” Community members, both involved in food and farming, see the benefit of St. Vincent de Paul’s latest mission. “This project is a great partnership where we involve the private sector, that has the means. They’re [transporting] the mobile food and contributing to the St. Vincent de Paul mission, by virtue of taking healthy, quality, farm-to-table food out to scattered- site homes,” said David Smith, director of the three urban farms in Phoenix. Scattered-site homes are areas of the community where the homeless are not living in a shelter, but rather, under bridges, in riverbeds, as well as under trees and bushes, Smith said. “It’s a growing phenomenon, which we are seeing when we send the water trucks out. These folks need other services, like toiletries, as well as food. We’re trying to step up and cover that mission,” he said. St. Vincent de Paul is always looking for volunteers, cash donations, and material donations, such as wheelbarrows and hoses, as well as irrigation companies to donate services. To volunteer or donate, contact St. Vincent de Paul at 602-254-3338, or go to stvincentdepaul.net. St. Vincent de Paul partners with mobile food community Planting boxes are part of the St. Vincent de Paul urban farming program that help feed the hungry.